S Wolfe
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niftyspark.bsky.social
S Wolfe
@niftyspark.bsky.social
New here! | buildings engineer in Seattle working on green energy transition | ask me about electrification! | covid conscious #maskup | free Palestine 🇵🇸 | kill AI | they/them 🏳‍🌈
Reposted by S Wolfe
What's Up With COVID and What We Can Do About It: 2026 Edition

I've thoroughly updated this public health propaganda zine! With new information about:

Adjusting mask fit
CO2 monitoring
Improving ventilation for infection control

Read at newlevant.com/COVIDzine or in the thread below 👇
January 16, 2026 at 3:17 PM
Ridiculous. The US is only able to produce about half its domestic copper demand. Limiting supply is only going to impede new building construction, electrical grid maintenance and upgrades, and chip manufacturing. www.reuters.com/business/com...
COMEX copper hits record after Trump says he will impose 50% tariff on copper imports
Copper prices in the United States jumped more than 12% to a record high above $12,330 per metric ton after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would announce a 50% tariff on imports of the metal on Tuesday.
www.reuters.com
July 8, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Reposted by S Wolfe
Electrification is essential for cutting emissions—it reaches more of the energy system than renewables alone.

Fossil fuels still dominate transport, buildings, and industry, so clean power only helps if we electrify these sectors. Over 60% of energy emissions come from final use.
July 2, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Reposted by S Wolfe
REPEAT Project just completed our rapid analysis of the impacts of the Senate-passed version of the One Big "Beautiful" Bill (OBBB), which the House is considering now, on the US energy sector and emissions. Still working up full report, but here is a sneak peak...
🔌💡 🧵
July 2, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Reposted by S Wolfe
An awesome story about how solar microgrids kept the power on during Puerto Rico's latest blackouts.

This is bottom-up, power-to-the-people shit. Get excited!
Could Microgrids Be Puerto Rico's Answer to Endless Blackouts?
Meanwhile, feds redirect $365 million away from solar toward grid fixes
spectrum.ieee.org
June 25, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Reposted by S Wolfe
Renewables are booming, but electrification lags in OECD.

⚡️ While countries like Germany & Chile boost solar/wind, electrification rates are slow, unlike China's rapid growth.

Bridging the gap is key for a successful energy transition.

New @ember-energy.org report ember-energy.org/latest-insig...
June 25, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Reposted by S Wolfe
To all the reply guys saying how renewables are a terrible idea.

I hate to break it to you but >90% of new generation capacity built is now renewable energy, mainly solar & wind.

Data from @irena-official.bsky.social
June 21, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Nothing will convince you of AI's limitations like asking it questions about something you're an expert in.
June 13, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Reposted by S Wolfe
Walt Disney and Comcast's Universal filed a copyright lawsuit against Midjourney on Wednesday, calling its popular AI-powered image generator a "bottomless pit of plagiarism" for its use of the studios' best-known characters.
Disney, Universal sue image creator Midjourney for copyright infringement
Walt Disney and Comcast's Universal filed a copyright lawsuit against Midjourney on Wednesday, calling its popular AI-powered image generator a "bottomless pit of plagiarism" for its use of the studios' best-known characters.
reut.rs
June 11, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Reposted by S Wolfe
Highly recommend this Construction Physics blog post on the viability of solar power as the backbone of an electricity system.

Seriously, read it -- most people, even energy-literate people, have not kept up on this subject. Things have changed *so* fast, all your old cliches are outdated.
Can We Afford Large-scale Solar PV?
In the US solar energy has steadily risen in how much of our electricity it supplies.
www.construction-physics.com
June 11, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Reposted by S Wolfe
19 companies that have pulled support of Pride parades, in whole or in part, this year:

Lowe's
Dyson
Nivea
Tiffany & Co.
Toyota
Capital One
UPS
Disney
DoorDash
Live Nation
Anheuser-Busch
Diageo
PepsiCo
Nissan
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Citi
Mastercard
Booz Allen Hamilton
Deloitte
19 companies pulling back their support for Pride
For years, major corporations publicly celebrated the LGBTQ community.
popular.info
June 3, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Reposted by S Wolfe
Not sure how many people realize that battery storage already supplies 30% of California’s electricity demand at peak.

Batteries aren’t the future — they’re here now.
May 23, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Reposted by S Wolfe
Redlining shaped the power grid. Communities of color are still paying the price.
Redlining shaped the power grid. Communities of color are still paying the price.
America's legacy of segregation is affecting who benefits—and doesn't—from the clean energy revolution.
www.motherjones.com
May 20, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Reposted by S Wolfe
Decarbonising buildings is crucial for climate goals, but should we prioritise insulation or heat pumps? Where is the right balance?

My paper with @samhamels.bsky.social digs into this important question.

More here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
May 7, 2025 at 9:51 AM
Reposted by S Wolfe
May 6, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Reposted by S Wolfe
A truly depressing account of the enormous time, effort, & resources that go into building *anything* in blue cities.

Can not be exaggerated how much this phenomenon is crippling blue politics in the US.

www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
How many meetings does it take in Philadelphia to build 57 affordable homes? A lot.
The Philadelphia Housing Authority and developer Pennrose have been trying to get project approval since 2019. The cost has risen, and federal funding could be at risk.
www.inquirer.com
May 6, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Reposted by S Wolfe
wrote about how trump is going to annihilate the field of architecture for @thenation.com www.thenation.com/article/poli...
Real Estate Is the Key to Trump’s Worldview
His policies and behavior may often baffle, but he is a developer at heart.
www.thenation.com
April 28, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Reposted by S Wolfe
Official electricity data is out today, and even for a rougher-than-usual February, solar output is still up 24% year-on-year
April 24, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Reposted by S Wolfe
🚨 New paper drop

Must-read by a stellar group incl. @mliebreich.bsky.social, @iain-staffell.bsky.social

H2 isn’t silver bullet it’s made out to be. It has a role—just not everywhere.

Best bets: parts of industry, long-haul, storage
Not useful: home heating, cars

www.nature.com/articles/s44...
April 22, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Reposted by S Wolfe
GOOD NEWS: 41% of global electricity is now from renewable energy sources or nuclear as Ember’s global electricity review shows.
April 17, 2025 at 7:05 AM
Reposted by S Wolfe
My husband has taught human reproduction and development to the Cambridge medics for over three decades. When people start banging on about "only two biological sexes" he starts with "which sex: genetic, hormonal, or gonadal"?

Biological sex is not binary. www.scientificamerican.com/article/sex-...
Sex Redefined: The Idea of 2 Sexes Is Overly Simplistic
Biologists now think there is a larger spectrum than just binary female and male
www.scientificamerican.com
April 16, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Reposted by S Wolfe
Abolish ICE.
This is so fucked up. ICE agents in Massachusetts smashed the window of a car to grab a Guatemalan guy who was with his wife. They were waiting for their lawyer to arrive because he has a pending asylum case.

Story via @wcvb5.bsky.social: www.wcvb.com/article/ice-...
April 16, 2025 at 2:07 AM
Reposted by S Wolfe
This is why we say that popping on a mask when you go to the grocery store is a chance to resist creeping fascism. It’s a simple way to refuse this training to abandon others.
Despite its falsity, RFK Jr's message resonates with many Americans. Because it gives them a sense of protection against the risks they face and a sense of permission to not feel bad for others who do experience harm.
At an event in W. Va. Friday, RFK Jr. "called on Americans to eat better and exercise" for "pandemic preparedness."

He said otherwise healthy people did not die from Covid-19, but @sherylnyt.bsky.social found that 30% who died were otherwise healthy.

www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03...
March 29, 2025 at 12:06 AM